This application claims the priority of German application 198 45 495.7, filed Oct. 2, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a grip arrangement for a vehicle door, having a gripping bow which is arranged on a shell of the vehicle door and can be moved by pulling, which gripping bow is in an operative connection with a lock triggering element of a door lock, the gripping bow being supported by means of at least one bearing surface in its inoperative position on a corresponding supporting section of the shell.
Such a grip arrangement is generally known for side doors of passenger cars. The grip arrangement has a gripping bow which is swivellably disposed on one end on a corresponding bearing arrangement in the area of the shell of the vehicle door and acts by means of its other end upon a lock triggering lever for activating the door lock. When the gripping bow is pulled toward the outside away from the shell, the gripping bow swivels about its bearing point and activates the lock triggering lever, whereby the vehicle door can be opened. In its inoperative position, the gripping bow is supported by means of a bearing surface on a corresponding supporting section of the shell, particularly in the area of its end activating the lock triggering lever. In the event of a vehicle impact and a corresponding deformation of the side doors, deformations of the shell may occur which may result in a lifting-off of the door grip which may cause an unintentional triggering of the door lock.
It is an object of the invention to provide a grip arrangement of the initially mentioned type which reduces the risk of triggering the door lock in the event of a deformation of the vehicle door.
This object is achieved in that the gripping bow is provided in the area of the at least one bearing surface in sections with a clearing which, in the inoperative position, defines a distance of the bearing surface from the supporting section. As the result of the solution according to the invention, the actual bearing surface of the gripping bow on the supporting section of the shell is reduced. This also reduces the risk that, in the event of a corresponding deformation of the vehicle door and therefore of the shell, the gripping bow is pressed away to the outside. The invention is based on the recognition that the attack of the deformed shell on the at least one bearing surface of the gripping bow was decisive for the cases of the unintentional triggering of the door lock. By reducing the area which, in the inoperative position, actually rests on the supporting section, the shell can carry out certain deformations without any moving-along of the gripping bow, in contrast to a gripping bow of a correspondingly wide bearing surface. The distance of a partial section of the bearing surface of the gripping bow from the supporting section formed by the clearing along a portion of the original bearing surface permits the deformation of the shell in every case until this distance has been overcome, without any movement of the gripping bow taking place. The characteristic that the bearing surface is provided with a clearing only in sections is based on the fact that a support of the gripping bow on the shell must continue to be ensured. However, it would be conceivable to provide the gripping bow in the area of its end connected with the lock triggering element completely with a clearing so that there will no longer be a bearing surface at this end. Instead, a bearing surface in the area of the swivel bearing at the other end or at another point of the gripping bow would then have to be enlarged correspondingly in order to achieve a secure supporting of the gripping bow in the inoperative position. However, the solution which is more advantageous with respect to the operability is the solution of leaving, in each supporting area, a residual bearing surface in any case despite the providing of a clearing. A side door and/or a rear door of a motor vehicle, particularly of a passenger car, can be provided as the vehicle door.
As a development of the invention, the clearing is surrounded in the inoperative position by a flexible covering lip. As the result of the covering lip, the distance between the bearing surface of the gripping bow and the supporting section of the shell, which is formed by the clearing, is covered in the inoperative position, resulting, on the one hand, in a visually attractive appearance and, on the other hand, at least largely preventing the penetration of water and dirt into the interior of the vehicle door at the level at which the gripping bow passes through the shell.
As a further development of the invention, the clearing is provided on a lower halfxe2x80x94relative to the installed operating positionxe2x80x94of the gripping bow. This further development takes into account the recognition that, in the event of a vehicle impact of a passenger car, particularly the area of the shell of the vehicle door situated below the grip arrangement is considerably deformed, so that a remaining bearing surface above the center of the gripping bow presents no great risk of causing a triggering of the door lock by a deformation of the shell.
Additional advantages and characteristics of the invention are found in the subclaims as well as in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated by means of drawings.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.